Funny Girl
by Notjustanotherperson
Summary: AU One-shot based on the first few minutes of UP. A look at important moments in Rachel's and Finn's lives from when they meet as children to the their marriage to the day one of them passes. Bad summary but I hope you'll give it a shot.


_December 2000_

A little boy with short brown hair sat in the front row of the movie theater, he watched the screen excitedly, completely wrapped in the story. His mouth was hanging open slightly as he leaned forward in his seat in utmost interest as a song broke out on screen.

"_You're a mean one, Mr Grinch._

_You really are a heel._

_You're as cuddly as a cactus,_

_You're as charming as an eel,_

_Mr Grinch._

_You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel."_

The small child began to mouth the lyrics of the song, this having been his fifth time watching his favourite movie. He wanted to be like that, he wanted to be able to sing too.

As he made his way home, he suddenly stopped in his tracks as a clear, beautiful voice rang out from the house he was passing. He couldn't recognize the melody but it sounded like an angel and he felt drawn towards the source of this heavenly music. He peered through a window and into the living room of the large house, spying a small brunette girl twirling around as she belted out Don't Rain On My Parade to an imaginary audience. She was pretty, her silky brown hair in two plaits with pink ribbons that turned with her and her cheeks were a rosy pink colour. She wore a red sweater with a puppy on it and a small maroon skirt with black tights. He thought she was adorable and stood staring at her for what seemed like hours as she continued her performance.

Just as he turned around to leave, a hand grabbed his shoulder and he jumped in fright, turning around to be faced with the girl who had stuck her tiny arm out of the now open window. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Did you hear me sing? What did you think? Was I as good as Barbra?" The small rosy cheeked boy was so overwhelmed that he stood still, staring at her with his mouth hanging open, not sure what to say. The girl sighed dramatically before motioning for a handshake and saying, "I'm Rachel Berry, future Broadway star. You are?" He gulped nervously as he took her hand, "Finn Hudson."

"So? What did you think?"

"Erm...It was nice." He smiled uncertainly.

The slightly taller girl broke into a beaming smile and said cheerily, "I like you. Can you sing?"

"Uh...I guess so." The girl raised an eyebrow at his response and waved him to start singing. He furrowed his brows, not sure what song to sing when he recalled his favourite movie and proceeded to sing a song softly before looking into her lively brown eyes shyly.

"What kind of song is that?" She asked, scrunching up her face in disgust.

"Oh..." His voice laced with disappointment at her disapproval.

"Nevermind," She huffed, "I'll teach you all about real music from Broadway. Trust me, you'll love it!" She said enthusiastically. He nodded wordlessly, satisfied with the fact that it would give him the opportunity to see more of her even if she did scare him a bit.

_January 2001_

He sat on the swing alone, gently swinging back and forth, his feet barely touching the ground. He enjoyed the peaceful silence as he watched the Lima sunset in front of him. A hand suddenly made contact with his shoulder and he jumped, causing him to fall of the swing with a high pitched squeak. He turned around and was met with his good friend's beaming face. She laid the box she was holding onto the sand beside him and sat down cross legged in front of it.

"Are you getting up or are you just going to lie there all day?" She asked impatiently as he scrambeld to sit up. She took out something from the pink box and laid it out on the sand for him to see. It was a large book labelled "Broadway" and as she flipped through the pages, the smaller boy caught sight of dozens of playbills and posters for various musicals until she finally stopped on one page which had the picture of a large city. Much larger than Lima, he thought. She ran her hand over the photograph and said to him with a dreamy smile, "That's New York. Big isn't it? I'm going to live there someday and I'm going to be on Broadway." Her smile dropped as she furrowed her brows in thought, tapping her chin and wondering outloud, "How would I afford that?" He glanced at her and grinned, taking her hand in his. "I'll help you."

_April 2020_

They looked lovingly at each other as they exchanged vows and rings. He now towered over the petite woman and had to bend down to kiss her. They were so caught in the moment that they couldn't hear whole chruch cheering or see her fathers and Carole crying while Burt smiled proudly.

"I love you so much, Rachel." He said quietly yet she could hear him above all the noise. "I love you too, Finn." She said in a whisper yet it was the only thing he could hear. They stared into each others eyes, oblivious of the world around them as time seemed to stand still. They rested their foreheads against one another until someone, Puck or Santana, most likely, wolf-whistled loudly and yelled something that made the couple at the alter blush heavily and turn to face the applauding guests. He turned to her one last time and she tilted her head upwards and as their eyes met, they knew that this was meant to be. They were meant to be.

_May 2020_

They glanced up at their newly purchased house, it was dark and old. It looked as though it might fall apart at any moment but with the plan for their dream home in hand, they knew it would soon be home. Their home.

It wasn't cheap, but they finally succeeded. It was just what they wanted, a small cosy house that was bright and cheery both on the inside and outside. It wasn't big by any means, but it was home and they loved it.

"Rach, may I have the pleasure of taking you on a date?" Finn asked as they sat together in the living room one sunny afternoon. She nodded excitedly as he took her hand, fetched the picnic basket he had prepared before hand and he led her to a small hill. As they climbed up towards the tree at the top, he tripped over his own feet and stumbled while she had skipped all the way up and was waiting patiently for him.

As they lay there, they looked up to the clouds and did what they used to do often as teenagers, they identified what each cloud reminded them of and that was when he thought about a baby. She, noticing his sudden silence, turned her head to him in concern.

"What do you think about having a baby, Rach?" He smiled as he imagined him and a little Finn playing football while his daughter would be having singing lessons with her mother. "I thought you'd never ask!" She squealed excitedly as she launched herself onto him and kissed him with vigour.

_J__uly 2020_

"I'm sorry, Mr and Mrs Hudson, but the baby is dead. We need to remove the foetus immediately." The doctor said, a sympathetic look on his face as he broke the news to the couple before him. "Will there be any lasting damage from the accident?" He asked as he held his sobbing wife, trying his best to hold back his own tears. He needed to be strong for her. "I'm afraid that Mrs Hudson won't be able to have children again-" The doctor started only to be interrupted by a loud wail coming from her and he left the room, allowing the broken hearted couple some time alone.

He looked longingly at her. She was sitting alone outside again. She hadn't been the same ever since the accident and no matter what he tried, he just couldn't cheer her up. There hadn't been any laughter, any smiling. Only muffled sniffs at night and he would turn over to hold her to his chest as she cried. He had to do something.

_March 2021_

They had started saving for their home in New York, a goal for them to work towards now that a family wasn't in their future. They were going to make her dream come true. Their dream. However, fate was working against them. They would put spare change in the glass jar everyday, but just when they were actually getting somewhere, something would crop up. Whether it was a flat tire or a broken limb or even rebuilding their current home, they had to keep forking out cash and they hardly got anywhere with their savings for New York.

_May 2064_

"Come on, Rach, it'll be fun." He said as he took her wrinkled hand in his as he flashed her his famous lopsided grin. "I'm tired, Finn, and we're not young anymore." She explained slowly. She hadn't felt good for days, her health had been poor lately and she just wanted to rest in bed.

He eventually managed to convince her to go up the hill with him one more time. He huffed and puffed as he struggled to reach the top, the journey having become much more difficult with age and he turned around to see his wife's legs give out under her. "Rach!" He cried as he ran as fast as he could to her side and picked her up.

_June 2064_

He eyed her sadly from the door. The doctor had predicted that she would have a week at most. Stage 4 cancer, they were told. There she was, lying in bed weakly trying to keep her tired eyes open. He sniffed as he thought back to their first date, their first anniversary, their wedding. She was going to leave him soon. She beckoned for him to come nearer as she smiled at him, never quite reaching her eyes.

"Finn,I love you so much but I'm so tired. I need to go, honey. I'm so sorry we couldn't have more time together." She whispered shakily, almost out of breath. He choked back a sob at seeing her so weak. _No_, he told himelf,_ I can't let her see me this way, I have to be strong_. He took her hand in his and squeezed gently. "It's okay, Rach, I won't blame you. I love you so much and I know it's going to hurt so bad when you go but I'll understand. I'm going to miss you so much. You're my one and only love and that won't ever change."

"I'll be waiting, Finn."

"So will I."

_June 2064_

It was raining. He sat inside the church alone. The funeral had ended about an hour ago but he couldn't bring himself to leave. They had gotten married here. He thought back to the way everything seemed to disappear into the background apart from each other. The way her brown eyes sparkled as he said his vows and the way she beamed at him when he said he loved her. She couldn't be gone. They hadn't lived in New York yet, she hadn't been on Broadway, none of the dreams he promised her had come true. He wiped his eyes and left. He couldn't face her.

_July 2064_

It was the first day he had looked at the 'Broadway' book for a long time. He flipped through the playbills and posters till he reached the picture of New York. He noticed stains appearing on the thin paper and realized he was crying. He closed the book with a huff of annoyance. He had let her down. As he got up to place the book back on the shelf, he spotted a folded piece of paper on the floor and picked it up. He opened it. Inside was a picture of them at the local theater on their first night as husband and wife. They had gone to see her favourite musical and he sniffed as he saw their youthful faces, full of life and energy, beaming back at him. He looked at the paper and immediately recognised his wife's neat handwriting and couldn't hold back his tears as he read the note.

"_Dear Finn, thanks for allowing me to have a starring role in your life. You'll always be my leading man! I'll miss you._

_Your Funny Girl,_

_Rachel*"_

**A/N I know it was a bit rough but I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review!**


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